Olympic Games 2012: Contracts

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Minister for the Olympics what the total value is of Olympic contracts awarded to  (a) UK registered and  (b) other firms to date.

Tessa Jowell: holding answer 26 November 2009
	 I have referred this question to the Olympic Delivery Authority. I will write to the hon. Member when I have received a reply, and I will place a copy of my reply in the Libraries of both Houses.

Departmental Meetings

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which  (a) individuals other than ministerial colleagues and officials of his Department and  (b) organisations he met in an official capacity in the week commencing 9 November 2009.

Shaun Woodward: In its response to a report by the Public Administration Select Committee Lobbying: Access and influence in Whitehall, the Government agreed to publish online, on a quarterly basis, information about ministerial meetings with outside interest groups. Information for the period 1 October to 31 December 2009 will be published by departments as soon as the information is ready.

Departmental Recruitment

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what proportion of jobs advertised by his Department in the last 12 months were online only applications; and what provision his Department makes for those wishing to apply for jobs in his Department who do not have access to the internet.

Paul Goggins: In the last 12 months there have been no jobs advertised by Northern Ireland Office that were online only applications. Applications for positions can be submitted online or as a hard copy.

Weapons: Decommissioning

Eddie McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent discussions he has had with  (a) loyalist groups and  (b) the Irish government on decommissioning of arms; and if he will make a statement.

Shaun Woodward: The Minister of State and I meet regularly with the Irish Ministers for Foreign Affairs and the Irish Justice Minister to discuss a range of issues, including decommissioning.
	The Independent International Commission on Decommissioning reported to both Governments in September that they believe the Ulster Volunteer Force and Red Hand Commando had completed the decommissioning process. The IICD also reported that they had overseen an act of decommissioning by the Ulster Defence Association and been given a commitment that the UDA will complete the decommissioning of their arms before the expiry of the Commission's final mandate.
	The decommissioning amnesty will come to an end in February 2010 and I encourage all those groups that hold illegal weapons to engage with the Commission as these arms have no place in normal society.

Child Care Vouchers

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what information his Department holds on the average time taken to transfer payments from childcare vouchers to childcare providers in the latest period for which figures are available.

Stephen Timms: The information requested is not available. HM Revenue and Customs does not administer child care voucher schemes. Generally child care voucher provider companies are contracted by employers to do the administration on their behalf.

Departmental Statistics

Chris Ruane: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what mechanisms are in place for the valuation of non-market impacts; and if he will make it his policy to collect data on happiness levels in respect of each income decile.

Stephen Timms: The Green Book is HM Treasury's guidance on appraisal and evaluation in central Government, including the valuation of non-market impacts. Annex 2 outlines techniques for valuing non-market impacts, and some typical applications.
	The Government publish information on life satisfaction, broken down by socio-economic class, as part of the sustainable development indicators published by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, available at
	http://www.defra.gov.uk/sustainable/government/progress/documents/SDIYP2009_a9.pdf
	The British Social Attitudes survey also occasionally asks questions on self-reported happiness, broken down by income band, most recently in 2008; available at
	http://www.britsocat.com/Body.aspx?control=HomePage

Financial Services: Education

Vincent Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which bodies the Government has asked to perform functions on behalf of the consumer financial education body to be established by the Financial Services Bill.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Provisions in the Financial Services Bill allow the consumer financial education body (CFEB) to ask other bodies to support it in fulfilling its function. This will allow CFEB to partner with organisations to deliver the money guidance service and other financial capability programmes. The Government have not asked any bodies to perform functions on behalf of CFEB. This will be a matter for the FSA in its planning to set up CFEB, for CFEB on its establishment and for negotiation with the bodies concerned.

Pensioners

David Drew: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with reference to the hon. Member for Stroud's correspondence with the Director of HMRC National Insurance Contributions Office ref DCT/158006, when he expects resolution of the matter to enable the hon. Member's constituent Mrs. Campbell to receive her pension; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: The National Insurance Contributions Office resolved the disagreement over the national insurance record of my hon. Friend's constituent on 23 November 2009. On same day the Pension Service was notified, and are now in position to determine the amount of state retirement pension due.

Tax Yields: Gambling

Don Foster: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the gross gaming yield from remote gambling has been in each month since the Gambling Act 2005 came into force.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: I refer the hon. Member to the answer my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport gave him on 20 October 2009,  Official Report, column 1326W.
	HMRC are not currently able to publish detailed figures for the revenue collected from Remote Gaming Duty while maintaining taxpayer's confidentiality.

VAT: Derelict Land

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will seek through discussions at EU level to exempt from value added tax the development of brownfield sites.

Stephen Timms: VAT is a broad-based tax on consumer expenditure and reliefs from it have always been strictly limited. The application of VAT reliefs is governed by European agreements, signed by successive Governments. These provide that EU Member States may not extend the scope of existing zero rates and exemptions or introduce any new ones.
	The current agreements were agreed in March this year, after discussions lasting over six years. There is no realistic prospect of amending them, to allow for exemption on supplies connected with the development of brownfield sites, beyond those reliefs we already have.
	Supplies of bare land, such as freehold sales and leases, are normally exempt from VAT. Through Land Remediation Relief (LRR), developers can also claim enhanced tax relief against corporation tax for the costs of clearing up contaminated and derelict brownfield sites. Further information on LRR is available at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/briefs/company-tax/brief2909.pdf
	When constructing a new building VAT normally has to be charged at the standard rate. However, a zero rate of VAT already applies to the construction of new eligible dwellings and buildings that will be used solely for a relevant residential or charitable purpose, whether on brownfield or greenfield sites.
	Further information is provided on HMRC's website at:
	http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channelsPortalWebApp/channels PortalWebApp.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=pageVAT_ ShowContent&id=HMCE_CL_000513&propertyType=document

Departmental Pay

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many staff in his Department received bonus payments in  (a) 2007-08 and  (b) 2008-09; what proportion of the total workforce they represented in each year; what the total amount of bonuses paid was; what the largest single payment was; and if he will make a statement.

Si�n Simon: The Department makes non-consolidated performance payments to its employees for two purposes: (a) in year non-consolidated performance payments to reward outstanding contributions in particularly demanding tasks or situations; and (b) year end non-consolidated performance payments to reward highly successful performance over a whole year. These figures are exclusive of two key senior staff in the Government Olympic Executive, who were appointed on fixed term contracts ending in 2012 and whose remuneration reflects extensive relevant experience and the unique challenge of delivering the Olympics to a fixed deadline. Details of their remuneration were published in the departmental annual reports and accounts 2009. The data is set out in the following tables.
	
		
			   2007-08  2008-09 
			 Number of staff awarded in year non-consolidated performance payments 144 178 
			 Proportion of work force (Percentage) 28 38 
			 Total cost of payments (£) 69,109 73,700 
			 Largest single non-consolidated payment (£) 2,000 2,500 
		
	
	
		
			   2007-08  2008-09 
			 Number of staff awarded year end non-consolidated performance payments 235 219 
			 Proportion of work force (Percentage) 46 46 
			 Total cost of payments (£) 451,604 443,467 
			 Largest single non-consolidated payment (£) 13,000 15,000

Departmental Pay

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the  (a) average and  (b) highest non-consolidated performance-related payment was in cash terms for a senior civil servant in his Department in each of the last five years.

Si�n Simon: holding answer 24 November 2009
	The information requested is set out in the following table. They are exclusive of two key senior staff in the Government Olympic Executive, who were appointed on fixed term contracts ending in 2012 and whose remuneration reflects extensive relevant experience and the unique challenge of delivering the Olympics to a fixed deadline. Details of their remuneration were published in the departmental Annual Reports and Accounts 2009.
	
		
			  £ 
			  Financial year  Average non-consolidated performance related payments  Highest non-consolidated performance related payments 
			 2008-09 8,210 15,000 
			 2007-08 6,738 13,000 
			 2006-07 5,356 10,000 
			 2005-06 3,576 6,000 
			 2004-05 3,466 7,000

Olympic Games 2012: National Lottery

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much and what proportion of National Lottery grant funding has been provided to the London 2012 Olympics in each year since 2005.

Si�n Simon: The funding provided to the Olympics good cause and non-Olympic good causes, respectively, was as follows:
	
		
			  £000 
			   Olympics  Non-Olympic good causes 
			 2005-06 16,525 1,491,715 
			 2006-07 115,759 1,290,283 
			 2007-08 151,229 1,302,247 
			 2008-09(1) 211,063 1,238,785 
			 (1) Provisional outturn, net of Olympic transfers totalling £73 million between the National Lottery Distribution Fund and the Olympic Lottery Distribution Fund.

Olympic Games 2012: National Lottery

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much additional revenue the new National Lottery Millionaire's Raffle is expected to generate; and what percentage of that revenue will be provided to fund the London 2012 Olympics.

Si�n Simon: The National Lottery Commission holds forecasts for sales performance of new or enhanced National Lottery games, but is unable to release this publicly as the information is commercially sensitive. However, actual sales figures broken down by individual games are available via the following page on the website of Camelot, the National Lottery operator:
	http://www.camelotgroup.co.uk/aboutcamelot/ourstrategy.html
	The EuroMillions game, including the new Millionaire Raffle aspect of the game, is not a designated Olympic Lottery game and all proceeds will go to the National Lottery Distribution Fund (NLDF).
	The NLDF is providing a total of £1,085 million to the Olympic Lottery Distributor in 15 transfers between 2009 and 2012. It is not possible to attribute the source of these transfers to individual Lottery games.

Departmental Recruitment

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what proportion of jobs advertised by his Department in the last 12 months were online only applications; and what provision his Department makes for those wishing to apply for jobs in his Department who do not have access to the internet.

Ann McKechin: No jobs in the Scotland Office were advertised online only.

Agriculture: Finance

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many on-farm visits were made in relation to rural development programme schemes in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Huw Irranca-Davies: Both Natural England (NE) and the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) make on-farm visits in relation to rural development programme schemes.
	NE make agri-environment (AE) agreement visits. These visits by land management experts are to assess the environmental features of the site, to work with the farmer to design and agree the management options that will deliver the most benefit, or to monitor the benefits and suggest improvements (these are distinct from the formal inspections carried out by RPA). NE makes about 26,000 visits to 18,000 farms each year. NE has over 58,000 AE agreements, so this is about one visit every two years, but the visits are focused on areas with the most environmental impact, typically higher level stewardship and environmentally sensitive areas.
	The RPA undertakes on-farm compliance inspections made under land-based rural development schemes. The number of visits made in the last five years are shown in the following table.
	
		
			   Number 
			 2009 3,180 
			 2008 3,510 
			 2007 3,970 
			 2006 4,215 
			 2005 3,443

Cetaceans: Japan

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the government of Japan on the treatment of whales, dolphins and porpoises; and if he will make a statement.

Huw Irranca-Davies: On 24 October I wrote to the Japanese Fisheries Minister expressing the UK's continued opposition to the killing of whales in the southern and Northwest Pacific oceans and to the hunting of small cetaceans in Japanese coastal waters. At this year's IWC meeting in June, I raised concerns over the animal welfare implications of small cetacean hunts. The UK also highlighted the plight of the Dall's porpoise in Japan and the high levels of toxic chemicals found in cetacean meat.
	The UK Government will continue to make our position known to Japan at every appropriate opportunity and argue that Japanese whaling operations undermine the credibility of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) as an effective organisation for the conservation of cetacean stocks world-wide.

Departmental Meetings

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which  (a) individuals other than Ministerial colleagues and officials of his Department and  (b) organisations he met in an official capacity in the week commencing 9 November 2009.

Dan Norris: In its response to a report by the Public Administration Select Committee Lobbying: Access and influence in Whitehall, the Government agreed to publish on-line, on a quarterly basis, information about ministerial meetings with outside interest groups. Information for the period 1 October to 31 December 2009 will be published by departments as soon as the information is ready.

Departmental Working Hours

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many and what proportion of staff of his Department, its executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies work flexibly or part-time; and what his Department's policy is on making jobs available on a job-share or flexible basis.

Dan Norris: DEFRA staff work in a variety of flexible ways. These include:
	part-time working;
	job sharing;
	compressed hours;
	staggered hours;
	term-time working;
	working from home.
	1,693 staff in DEFRA and its agencies work part time as of 31 March 2009. This represents 16 per cent. of the work force. This is an increase of 6 per cent. in three years.
	Information on other forms of flexible working is not held centrally. Many arrangements for flexible working, within contracted hours, may be made informally between managers and staff at a local level and will not therefore be recorded on central systems.
	Information on flexible and part-time working patterns and practices for DEFRA's non-departmental public bodies is not held centrally.

EU Grants and Loans

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the current underspend is on funding from the  (a) European Regional Development Fund and  (b) European Rural Development Fund which is administered by his Department; and what the total underspend was on European Regional Development Fund allocations in each of the last three years for which figures are available.

Dan Norris: The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) is administered by the Department for Communities and Local Government (CLG). CLG has advised that the underspend on the 2000-2006 ERDF programmes in the English regions will not be known until after the final declarations are submitted to the European Commission on 31 March 2010.
	For the 2007-13 ERDF programmes, the 2007 allocation must be spent by 31 December 2009. The operational programmes appear to be on track to meet their spending targets.
	Funds from the European Agriculture Fund for Rural Development are allocated over the seven year period of the Rural Development Programme for England. Unspent funds may be rolled forward under European Commission rules to be spent in future years. DEFRA is working closely with the rural development delivery bodies to re-profile future budgets to realise the environmental and rural outcomes planned for the programme.

Housing Benefit: Post Office Card Account

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what recent discussions she has had on the possibility of enabling the local housing allowance to be paid into a Post Office Card Account;
	(2)  what recent assessment her Department has made of the merits of enabling the local housing allowance (LHA) to be paid into the Post Office Card Account  (a) for tenants receiving LHA,  (b) for tenants who do not have bank accounts,  (c) for local authorities and  (d) for the Post Office;
	(3)  what recent representations she has received on the possibility of enabling the local housing allowance to be paid into a Post Office Card Account.

Helen Goodman: The Department has had no recent discussions, and only a small number of representations, about enabling housing benefit (HB) calculated using local housing allowance (LHA) rules, to be paid into the Post Office card account (POCA).
	One of the key features of the LHA rules is that, where possible, the benefit is paid to the customer, so that they can take more personal responsibility for their housing, helping them to prepare for when they move into work. In support of this, we want customers living in the private sector to have housing benefit paid into a bank account and to set up a direct debit or standing order to pay their rent to their landlord.
	The POCA is a simple account designed to receive payments of benefits and pensions. It does not have the facility for the customer to set up direct debit or standing order payments and is therefore not suitable to receive payments of HB. The Department has recently signed a new contract with Post Office Ltd. for the POCA and no provision was made for direct debits, standing orders or for HB payments.
	Most people should be able to open a basic bank account which can be used to receive HB and which also has the facility to set up direct debits or standing orders. There are over 25 such accounts, including 17 basic bank accounts which can be accessed at post offices. These accounts enable customers to use their local post office if this is important to them and also provides additional footfall for sub-postmasters.

Work Capability Assessment

Paul Rowen: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions who will carry out the independent review of the work capability assessment; how the views and experiences of people with mental health problems and carers will be taken into account in the review; and who will have access to its results.

Jonathan R Shaw: The independent review of the Work Capability Assessment is currently being commissioned and it is not yet known who will be carrying it out. It will begin in the new year and the reviewer will determine how views and experiences of individuals will be incorporated. The report will be published upon completion.

Departmental Air Travel

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality how many first-class flights were taken by each Minister in the Government Equalities Office in 2008-09; and what the  (a) origin,  (b) destination and  (c) cost was of each such flight.

Michael Jabez Foster: During 2008-09, the Government Equalities Office spent £5,026 on first class air travel. The details of which are as follows:
	
		
			  Minister  Origin  Destination  Cost (£) 
			 Barbara Follett London Amsterdam 442 
			 
			 Barbara Follett London New York 4,584

School Refurbishment: Warrington

Helen Southworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families if he will bring forward proposals to fund renovation and building of schools in Warrington; and if he will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: I informed the House today that Warrington is one of 12 projects that will be joining the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme today. Warrington alongside: Brent, Darlington, Devon, Havering, Kingston and Croydon, Lancashire, Norfolk, Plymouth, Sefton, Tameside, and Wakefield, will embark on their BSF schemes between January and March 2010.

Schools: Discipline

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what misbehaviour by a pupil is  (a) mandatorily informed to parents,  (b) mandatorily not informed to parents and  (c) a matter of discretion.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 23 November 2009
	 Schools are currently not required by law to inform parents about their child's misbehaviour. All schools are required to have a behaviour policy setting out the standards of behaviour expected of all pupils.
	The Government are committed to improving the information that parents receive from schools on their children's behaviour. The Children, Schools and Families Bill include a new Parent Guarantee which will clarify the rights and entitlements that every parent can expect to receive from their child's school. This will include a new Home School Agreement, which will ensure that all parents understand the expectations of them and their child and the consequences of not acting to support the school in addressing their child's behaviour issues.
	In addition, the Department is currently consulting on amendments to the Education (Pupil Information) (England) Regulations 2005, which is the law governing school records and the annual reports that schools send to parents on their children's educational progress.
	The proposals we are consulting on include a new statutory requirement for the head teacher's annual report to include information to parents on their child's behaviour.
	New measures in the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009 introduce a requirement on governing bodies to put into place a system for recording and reporting to parents' significant incidents of the use of force by school staff. The provisions allow that the school may report the incident to the local authority where they believe the pupil is likely to be at risk of significant harm if they reported the incident to parents. These provisions are expected to come into force from 1 September 2010.

Biofuels: Boilers

Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps he intends to take to ensure that boilers fired by the fuel B30K remain compliant with sections of table 12 draft Standard Assessment Procedure 2009 and cannot be switched to operate on other heating oils.

Joan Ruddock: holding answer 23 November 2009
	 We are liaising with the industry to ensure they are taking steps to guard against a switch to using other heating oils. We understand that the industry plan to check that the installation is labelled as suitable for the grade of fuel to be delivered before any delivery commences.
	The potential problems associated with switching would also be a deterrent. The conversion of a boiler to burn the kerosene/bio-liquid blended fuel B30K is not easily reversible, at least not without further costs for adapting the burner and flushing the oil tank. The B30K blend has different material properties to 100 per cent. kerosene at ambient and operational temperatures and burning Kerosene in a B30K installation would lead to boiler firing problems and damage to the equipment.

Departmental Cost Effectiveness

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what efficiency savings projects his Department put in place under the Operational Efficiency Programme; on what date each such project was initiated; how much each such project was expected to contribute to departmental savings; how much had been saved through each such project on the latest date for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Joan Ruddock: DECC has a target to find £20 million of savings in 2010-11 as part of the Operational Efficiency Programme. £17.5 million of this will be found from the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority's non-programme budgets and £2.5 million from savings in core-DECC budgets, including through collaborative procurement. These targets will be met through a combination of innovation and strict control of expenditure.

Departmental Pay

John Mason: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what  (a) bonuses and  (b) incentives have been paid to (i) consultants and (ii) contractors engaged by executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies for which his Department is responsible in each of the last three years.

Joan Ruddock: DECC has no Executive agencies.
	For DECC's non-departmental public bodies, the Coal Authority, Committee on Climate Change and the Civil Nuclear Police Authority have made no such payments.
	The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) pays its site license company parent body organisations (PBOs) (effectively contractors) performance-based incentives against delivery of site lifetime plans. Increased productivity allows the PBO to earn fees for delivering key targets within a defined timeframe. The PBOs are also incentivised to make cost savings.
	NDA's payments to PBOs are published in their annual report and accounts. Payments for the last three years are as follows:
	
		
			   £ million 
			 2006-07 128 
			 2007-08 97 
			 2008-09 73 
		
	
	NDA does employ consultants for some projects , but specific details of any bonus or incentive arrangements would be commercially confidential.

Departmental Recycling

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what weight of paper his Department has recycled since its creation.

Joan Ruddock: Since DECC's inception in October 2008, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) manage the Department's estate, including recycling services.
	DECC occupies two floors of Atholl House which has six in total. From October 2008 to October 2009 Atholl House recycled 20,800kg of paper. It is not possible to provide a split for DECC only.
	For both Whitehall Place and 55 Whitehall the figure for recycled paper is 66,503kg from 1 October 2008 to 20 November 2009. It is not possible to provide a split for Whitehall Place only. From October 2008 to mid-April 2009 DECC shared Whitehall Place with DEFRA.

Electricity

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps his Department is taking to encourage the installation of Power Factor Correction equipment.

Joan Ruddock: Power Factor Correction (PFC) can make significant energy savings in certain installations.
	The Government funded Carbon Trust helps businesses determine whether this is a useful technology for them through free telephone advice and energy saving site surveys. The Trust's small and medium sized business loans scheme can be used for energy saving technologies, including PFC. Budget 2009 provided an additional £83.9 million for the scheme for financial years 2009-10 and 2010-11.

Nuclear Engineering: Training

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many courses there are in the country to train nuclear engineers.

David Kidney: There are a number of courses available in the UK to train nuclear engineers ranging from apprenticeships to post graduates. This includes 11 universities which run nuclear related courses.
	A summary of courses available is as follows:
	Apprenticeships in Engineering, offered across the National Skills Academy for Nuclear provider network
	NVQs in Decommissioning and Radiation Protection
	New Foundation Degree Engineering (nuclear) developed between the Skills Academy and Portsmouth and Central Lancashire Universities
	Award for Nuclear Industry Awareness
	Certificate of Nuclear Professionalism under development
	NTEC Masters Programme
	Variety of HE programmes detailed on http://nuclearliaison.com/nl-courses including circa 11 universities and 20 courses.

Renewables Obligation: Water Power

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether he plans to increase the level of assistance provided by his Department through the Renewables Obligation to  (a) tidal stream,  (b) wave and (c) other emerging renewable energy technologies under his Department's Marine Action Plan; and when he expects that plan to be published.

David Kidney: The Government plan to publish their marine action plan by spring next year. This action plan will set out the key steps which will need to be taken by both Government and industry to support the mass deployment of wave and tidal stream technologies going forward. Areas considered will include the level and availability of grants, loans, capital provision, and revenue support through the Renewables Obligation.

United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority: Public Relations

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what payments the UK Atomic Energy Authority has made to Grayling Political Strategy in each of the last three years; for what purposes; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the contract under which such payments have been made.

David Kidney: Grayling Political Strategy was appointed by UKAEA as public affairs consultants in April 2004 after a competitive tendering process following the passage of the Energy Act 2004 and a period of significant change in the industry.
	UKAEA had to respond and restructure during this time in a manner which would offer best value for money for the taxpayer. Grayling provided the services of: public affairs strategic advice, support with key stakeholder engagement and national media support.
	The contract has now expired however payments to Grayling Political Strategy in the last three years were as follows:
	2008-09: nil
	2007-08: £34,488
	2006-07: £140,923.

A5: M1

Andrew Selous: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport with reference to the answer of 24 November 2009,  Official Report, column 58W, on the A5-M1 link, under what budget headings the £11.8 million was spent.

Chris Mole: The £11.8 million has been spent on preparing the scheme to achieve particular milestones. To date, these have included:
	Options identification including options to be taken to public consultation, assessment of environmental impact and economic benefits.
	Options selection including public consultation, public exhibitions and preferred route announcement.
	Preliminary design (current phase) including surveys (geotechnical, environmental etc.), preliminary design of the preferred route and additional design resulting from the transfer of works from the M1 J10-13 Improvements Scheme, preparation for publication of draft orders and the draft orders public exhibitions.
	Lands costs including property purchased under blight.
	The scheme is being progressed through the Major Projects Project Control Framework (PCF).
	The PCF process involves a number of products/reports to be produced or reviewed in each stage. Further information, if required, in regard to these products can be found on the Highways Agency website-Road Projects-How we manage our roads.

Departmental Cost Effectiveness

Vincent Cable: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what efficiency savings projects  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies put in place under the Operational Efficiency Programme; on what date each such project was initiated; how much each such project was expected to contribute to Departmental savings; how much had been saved through each such project on the latest date for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Mole: Specific departmental targets for the Operational Efficiency Programme (OEP) have not been set for the current spending review period.
	However, the Department for Transport is fully committed to operational efficiency, and to improving both our efficiency and effectiveness in the provision and purchasing of back-office services and associated assets. We have undertaken a high-level review of our scope for business improvement, and have embarked upon change and improvement work programmes particularly focused on finance, human resources and procurement. Each of these programmes is co-ordinated and overseen centrally by a new board sub-committee, the Business Process Programme Board.
	These work programmes will leave us well placed to contribute to the savings anticipated for the next spending review period in the OEP report, published alongside the Budget in April 2009.

Driving: Licensing

Roger Williams: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what recent assessment he has made of the extent to which a system of graduated driver licences fulfils the four tests set out in his Department's October 2008 consultation, Learning to Drive.

Paul Clark: An assessment of graduated licensing was undertaken as part of the development of our Learning to Drive Consultation paper. This concluded that the introduction of graduated licensing restrictions here would bring extensive social and economic costs, and highly uncertain benefits.
	There were almost 7,000 responses to the consultation showing a general support for our view that an approach based on education and incentives, through better training and testing, is the best way to improve the safety of newly-qualified drivers.
	We continue to monitor any emerging evidence relating to increased regulation and post-test restrictions, including evidence from other countries.

Railways: Hertfordshire

Anne Main: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what steps he plans to take to ensure that accurate rail pathing data is available before determination of the planning appeal into the Strategic Rail Freight Interchange proposal for the former Radlett Aerodrome site.

Chris Mole: I cannot comment on a development proposal which is currently under consideration in the planning system or comment on a specific matter relating to that proposal. However, it is Government policy to support the development of a network of strategic rail freight interchanges across the regions to assist mode shift (from road to rail), to reduce lorry journeys and reduce carbon.

Shipping: Training

Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland of 12 November 2009,  Official Report, column 638W on shipping: training, on what dates he has met representatives of Nautilus International to discuss seafarer training in the last 12 months.

Paul Clark: I met Nautilus International on the following dates:
	29 July 2009
	6 October 2009
	At these meetings a number of issues were discussed including seafarer training.

Armed Forces: Housing

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many serving military personnel in  (a) the Army,  (b) the Royal Navy and  (c) the Royal Air Force have been placed in temporary accommodation as part of an authorised reconciliation period in each of the last five years.

Kevan Jones: This information is neither held centrally or in the format requested.

Armed Forces: Telephone Services

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to provide extra minutes of free talk time above normal allocations over the Christmas and new year period for armed forces personnel serving abroad.

Bill Rammell: Armed Forces personnel and MOD civil servants serving abroad on operations routinely receive 30 minutes free talk time during Christmas week from the Ministry of Defence. This is in addition to their regular weekly allocation, which is a minimum of 30 minutes, dependant on tour length. These allowances are provided under the WelComE (Welfare Communications Everywhere) project, which forms part of the Deployment Welfare Package.
	This year, during the week of new year, they will also receive an additional 30 minutes from Paradigm, the communications company responsible for providing the WelComE service, to mark its tenth anniversary.

Army: Manpower

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many serving infantry soldiers there are in the Army.

Bill Rammell: At 1 October the Infantry had 2,740 trained officers against a liability of 2,520 and 21,350 trained soldiers against a liability of 21,999.
	This represents an increase of 40 in officer strength and 1,470 in soldier strength over the last 12 months. This results from a combination of a greater number of recruits entering training and passing out into the Field Army, coupled with an improvement in retention. While this may be attributed in part to the economic climate, a combination of Infantry-specific financial incentives and Army-wide retention measures have also had an impact.

Departmental Drinking Water

Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department spent on bottled water in each of the last 12 months.

Bill Rammell: Expenditure on bottled water used within the Ministry of Defence is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Bottled water is supplied through multi-activity, private finance initiative and public private partnership contracts. In accordance with Government policy on sustainable procurement, the supply of bottled water is to be removed from such contracts, where drinkable tap water is available.
	Separately, bottled water is supplied to service personnel under the MOD world wide food supply contract. Expenditure against the current contract for each of the last 12 months is provided in the following table.
	
		
			   Value (£000) 
			 November 2008 51.7 
			 December 2008 43.7 
			 January 2009 23.2 
			 February 2009 34.1 
			 March 2009 56.5 
			 April 2009 40.3 
			 May 2009 53.8 
			 June 2009 78.3 
			 July 2009 124.5 
			 August 2009 137.6 
			 September 2009 155.3 
			 October 2009 394.2

Departmental Public Expenditure

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence under what budget headings his Department's allocation to the  (a) Afghanistan Delivery Groups,  (b) Tri-Departmental Stabilisation Unit and  (c) Conflict Pool referred to in his Department's Winter Supplementary Estimate for 2009-10 will be spent.

Bob Ainsworth: As outlined by the Foreign Secretary in a written ministerial statement on 25 March 2009, the newly combined conflict pool subsumes all activity under the conflict prevention pool and Stabilisation Aid Fund. Since this change occurred halfway through the financial year, the headings under which they appear in the parliamentary estimate have to remain as detailed at main estimates. Since then, it has been confirmed that the overall responsibility for the conflict pool rests with DFID and as such, the funding rests on that baseline.
	The MOD will continue to run those programmes for which we have the necessary experience and technical knowledge. The £6.729 million indicated in the WSE represent the transfer of authority of those funds that the MOD no longer maintains financial authority for, as responsibility for all previous-SAF programmes has now moved to DFID. Activities carried out by the MOD in terms of the SAF and CPP can be seen the Departmental Resource and Accounts:
	http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/AboutDefence/CorporatePublications/AnnualReports/MODAnnualReport0809/

Departmental Working Hours

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many and what proportion of staff of his Department, its executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies work flexibly or part-time; and what his Department's policy is on making jobs available on a job-share or flexible basis.

Bob Ainsworth: The information on how many staff who work part-time are published in the Defence Analytical Services and Advice (DASA) Civilian Manpower Statistics report, released November 2009. This can be found at:
	www.dasa.mod.uk
	The data requested on the numbers of staff in non-departmental public bodies who work flexibly is not held centrally. We do have data on the number of staff in agencies and trading funds, who work part-time. The figures are shown in the table.
	The MOD provides a range of working patterns that supports the matching of the business needs with those of the individual. Very few posts are deemed unsuitable for alternative patterns of work. The civil service job share website is available to part-time staff wishing to find job share partners.
	
		
			  Headcount 
			   1 April 2009 
			  MOD Executive Agency/Trading Fund Organisation  Part time  Full time  Total  Proportion (percentage) 
			 Defence Storage And Distribution Agency 105 2,660 2,770 3.8 
			 Defence Vetting Agency 45 380 430 10.5 
			 Ministry of Defence Police and Guarding Agency 170 7,540 7,720 2.2 
			 People Pay and Pensions Agency 220 960 1,180 18.7 
			 Service Children's Education 1,090 220 1,310 83.2 
			 Service Personnel and Veterans Agency 330 710 1,030 31.7 
			 Ministry of Defence (less agencies) 4,680 47,070 51,760 9.0 
			  
			 Core MOD 6,640 59,550 66,200 10.0 
			  
			 Meteorological Office 150 1,750 1,900 7.8 
			 Defence Evaluation And Research Agency 320 3,260 3,580 9.0 
			 UK Hydrographic Office 110 880 990 11.0 
			 Defence Support Group 120 3,260 3,390 3.7 
			  
			 Trading fund total 700 9,150 9,860 7.2 
			  
			 Core MOD and trading fund total 7,350 68,710 76,060 9.7 
			  Notes: 1. All numbers have been individually rounded to the nearest 10, and may total to sub totals and overall totals. 2. Percentages have been calculated from raw unrounded numbers. 3. Totals exclude personnel employed in the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) and locally engaged civilians (LECs) for whom part time/full data is not available.  Source: DASA (Quad-Service)

Driving

Stephen Ladyman: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what mechanisms are in place to ensure that staff who drive  (a) a vehicle for which (i) his Department and (ii) one of its executive agencies is responsible have valid driving licences and  (b) their own vehicles in the course of their official duties for (A) his Department and (B) one of its executive agencies have valid driving licences and insurance; what guidance is issued to those staff in respect of road safety while carrying out official duties; what steps are taken to monitor compliance with that guidance; what requirements there are on such staff to report to their line managers accidents in which they are involved while driving in the course of their official duties; and whether such reports are investigated.

Kevan Jones: MOD policy directs that all Service personnel and MOD civilians using vehicles provided by the Department, and including privately owned vehicles used for official duties, must have a valid driving licence for the type of vehicle being used together with an appropriate level of insurance for private vehicles. Responsibility for applying this policy and checking compliance lies at business unit level.
	MOD Personnel and MOD Transport policy directs that all business units, including agencies, provide advice on road safety to all staff. Such advice is normally provided by Defence Road Safety Advisors or at unit level by Unit Road Safety Officers. This advice is supplemented and supported by a rolling programme of campaigns such as the Defence Road Safety Week (23-27 November 2009). The policy also provides guidance for line managers on causes of impairment of driving and preventative measures, and on accident reporting requirements which also apply to private vehicles being used on official duties. It is a requirement that all incidents or accidents resulting in fatality or serious injury are investigated and lessons identified are shared to prevent recurrence.

Members: Correspondence

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he plans to reply to the letter of 14 July 2009 from the hon. Member for Sittingbourne and Sheppey's constituent A.R.F. Carter.

Bill Rammell: I replied to the hon. Member yesterday. I sincerely apologise for the time it has taken to reply. This has been due to an administrative error.

Special Reconnaissance Regiment: Northern Ireland

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of the Special Reconnaissance Regiment are based in Northern Ireland.

Bill Rammell: It is the long-standing policy of this and previous Governments not to comment on matters relating to UK special forces, as their disclosure would, or would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the armed forces.

Colombia: Overseas Trade

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has received from the organisation Justice for Colombia on the negotiation of a Free Trade Agreement between the European Union and Colombia; what assessment he has made of those representations; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Bryant: We have not received written representations directly from Justice for Colombia on this issue, although delegates of a Justice for Colombia visit to Colombia in April 2009 raised it with our Ambassador in Bogota and Justice for Colombia has regularly raised it with us directly.
	We believe that free trade agreements can help to create the right circumstances for improved stability, where human rights stand a better chance of flourishing. Denying Colombia access to the economic opportunities presented by a Multi-Party Trade Agreement would undermine this prospect. We believe that any Free Trade Agreement must have clear and enforceable human rights clauses.

Gulf Cooperation Council: EU External Trade

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress has been made towards the signing of a EU free trade agreement with the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: Following the 19th EU-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Joint Council and Ministerial Meeting on 29 April 2009, discussions between the EU and the GCC over the signing of a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) continue. The Government remain committed to securing an FTA between the EU and GCC.

India: Religious Freedom

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assistance he has offered to the Indian government on the restoration of religious tolerance in Orissa.

Ivan Lewis: We have not provided direct assistance to the Indian Government to restore religious intolerance in India. The Indian Government have not requested such assistance. However, we welcome the efforts made by the Indian authorities to uphold the right to freedom of religion of all its citizens under the Indian constitution.

Israel: Borders

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on recent progress by the Israeli government in removing checkpoints and security barriers on the West Bank.

Ivan Lewis: The Israeli Government have recently removed some obstacles to movement and access in the west bank. In June 2009, the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) listed 613 obstacles in the west bank. As of the end of October 2009, the UNOCHA listed 578 obstacles in the west bank.
	However, this falls short of the Israeli announcement in September 2009 that Israel would remove 100 obstacles. A UNOCHA investigation, using co-ordinates provided by the Israeli Defence Forces, found that not all of these 100 obstacles had been removed, and that 61 of the 100 had not originally featured on the UNOCHA list of 613 obstacles because they were deemed insignificant.
	Nonetheless, the removal of some obstacles is a step in the right direction. We urge the Israeli Government to ensure that these improvements in movement and access are maintained and improved. We also commend the Palestinian security forces for their efforts to improve security in the west bank, which has in turn given Israel confidence to ease restrictions.

Libya: Terrorism

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs with reference to the answer to Lord Laird of 12 November 2009,  Official Report, House of Lords, column WA221, on Libya, how many people are working for the FCO-based Libya/Northern Ireland Reconciliation Unit.

Ivan Lewis: There are currently three full-time Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) staff working in the Libya/Northern Ireland Reconciliation Unit. These consist of a head of unit, unit manager and a support officer. These staff report to the deputy director, Middle East North Africa Directorate and are supported by staff at our embassy in Tripoli, the FCO legal advisers and other members of Middle East and North Africa Directorate as necessary.

Libya: Terrorism

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs with reference to the answer to Lord Laird of 12 November 2009,  Official Report, House of Lords, column WA221, on Libya, 
	(1)  what assessment his Department has made of progress in the campaign by victims and families of IRA terrorism for compensation from the Libyan government since 8 September;
	(2)  what progress the Libya/Northern Ireland Reconciliation Unit based in his Department has made since 8 September in supporting the campaign by victims and families of IRA terrorism for compensation from the Libyan government.

Ivan Lewis: With support from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO)'s Libya/Northern Ireland Reconciliation Unit, the campaign's parliamentary group secured and undertook a short visit to Libya in October 2009. They remain engaged with Libya in exploring mutually agreeable ways of bringing this issue to a conclusion. The FCO Unit will continue to support them in any way it properly can.

Middle East

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received on  (a) levels of unemployment,  (b) changes in the level of GDP growth,  (c) export volumes and  (d) crime rates on the West Bank.

Ivan Lewis: The International Monetary Fund has predicted that gross domestic product per capita in the west bank will decline in 2009, despite an initial projection of 7 per cent. growth, unless restrictions on movement and access are further relaxed.
	There are signs that unemployment has been falling slightly in the west bank this year. It fell from 19.5 per cent. in March to 15.9 per cent. in June. However, over the last three years unemployment has fallen over the summer months due to the nature of seasonal employment. It is therefore difficult to assess whether this decline is a reflection of a more sustained reduction in the level of unemployment, or a seasonal phenomenon. We shall continue to monitor data for the autumn and winter months.
	Anecdotal evidence suggests that exports may have increased marginally as a result of the decision to increase the commercial opening hours of the Allenby crossing into Jordan. However, Israel has yet to take other significant measures to facilitate exports through Jordan and into Israel. We continue to call on her to do so.
	There is also anecdotal evidence to suggest that crime rates in areas under Palestinian Authority (PA) control have declined as a result of a greater Palestinian police presence and a crackdown on crimes such as car theft. However, the PA has not been able to operate in 60 per cent. of the west bank-in Area C-and so its ability to have an impact on crime remains impeded.

Middle East: Armed Conflict

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received on the level of threat to Israel of attacks from the West Bank.

Ivan Lewis: There have been notable improvements in the security situation in the west bank over the past year. However, the situation remains fragile and could deteriorate quickly. We recognise the key role the Palestinian Authorities Security Forces have played in maintaining security and containing violent extremists in many areas of the west bank. However, we have been concerned in recent weeks by increased tensions in east Jerusalem and the old city.

Sudan: Politics and Government

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received of an attack on the South Sudanese Minister Dr Samson Kwaje; what recent assessment he has made of the security situation in Southern Sudan; and whether he has had recent discussions with President Salva Kiir of southern Sudan on the security situation in that area.

Ivan Lewis: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 2 November 2009,  Official Report, column 669W.
	We understand that Minister Samson Kwaje was shot and injured while promoting voter registration in Western Equatoria State. We understand that he sought hospital treatment and is recovering.
	We are concerned at such incidents of violence and urge all involved to ensure that voter registration, and other preparations for the elections in April 2010, are conducted in a peaceful manner.
	We are very concerned by the continuing insecurity in South Sudan as a result of tribal violence and activity by the Lord's Resistance Army.
	We have not had any recent discussions about this with President Kiir, however, EU High Representative, Javier Solana, met President Kiir in Brussels last week and discussed these issues with him. My ministerial colleagues, as well as senior officials, have raised security issues recently with the Government of National Unity and the Government of South Sudan.

Developing Countries: Family Planning

Chris McCafferty: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what guidance his Department has issued to his Department's country offices on incorporating  (a) sexual and reproductive health and rights,  (b) family planning and  (c) abortion services into country strategy papers.

Michael Foster: The Department for International Development (DFID) is committed to sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) including improved access to family planning and safe abortion services. We are working internationally and through our country offices to advance progress on SRHR. This is central to achieving the millennium development goals including maternal health, reducing child mortality, AIDS response and women's empowerment.
	DFID has policy papers that guide our approach to improving SRHR including the Maternal Health Strategy, Position Paper on SRHR and Achieving Universal Access-the UK's strategy for halting and reversing the spreading of HIV in the developing world. In addition, DFID recently issued an updated policy paper on safe and unsafe abortion which clearly demonstrates DFID's commitment to preventing unsafe abortion and improving access to safe abortion. All policy papers are available on DFID's website at:
	www.dfid.gov.uk
	Regional and country programmes reflect DFID's priorities in the areas of SRHR as appropriate to the country context. Where it is difficult for country offices to work directly on an issue, e.g. safe abortion where the national legal framework does not support this, DFID considers support though regional programming. This is why DFID has committed £6.5 million over five years to support regional work to increase access to safe abortion in sub-Saharan Africa.

Departmental Meetings

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice which  (a) individuals other than ministerial colleagues and officials of his Department and  (b) organisations he met in an official capacity in the week commencing 9 November 2009.

Jack Straw: I met with the hon. Member for Shrewsbury and Atcham (Daniel Kawczynski) and constituent during the week commencing 9 November 2009 to discuss libel tourism. I also met the Attorney General's of the USA, Canada, New Zealand and Australia.

Departmental Recruitment

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what proportion of jobs advertised by his Department in the last 12 months were online only applications; and what provision his Department makes for those wishing to apply for jobs in his Department who do not have access to the internet.

Michael Wills: Apart from the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) business areas, the Ministry does not undertake on line recruitment. Since May 2009, NOMS has eliminated the use of paper applications and all recruitment has been online. For individuals who do not have access to the internet at home the NOMS contact centre encourages applicants to use the range of internet points available at internet cafes, job centres and public libraries.
	The recruitment product used by NOMS complies with the Royal National Institute for Blind People conformity standard of AA (a measure of website accessibility). This means that the website has passed the test and is compliant with industry wide guidelines, allowing us to demonstrate for example, that disabled users have verified that the website provides an effective level of service to all users.

National Probation Service for England and Wales: Finance

Alan Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 29 October 2009,  Official Report, columns 26-7WS, on the Probation Service, what estimate he has made of the number of trainee probation officers who are expected to graduate in  (a) 2009 and  (b) 2010 without an offer of a full-time permanent job as a probation officer.

Maria Eagle: Currently 285 trainee probation officers (TPOs), who graduated in October 2009, do not have a permanent probation officer contract. 126 TPOs have secured a temporary contract as a probation officer, and a further 62 are employed as probation services officers (34 in permanent roles and 28 employed temporarily) 305 TPOs are expected to graduate in 2010, but it is too early to predict how many will be offered permanent probation officer contracts.
	The additional £26 million funding announced for Probation Board/Trust budgets in 2010-11 is specifically targeted on front line delivery. It will enable probation employers to revisit their workforce planning assumptions and potentially offer permanent probation officer contracts to TPO graduates from both 2009 and 2010.
	Directors of offender management will negotiate specific SLAs/contracts with boards/trusts. At this time it is not possible to provide the exact number of probation officer jobs available as the allocation for each probation area and trust will be agreed with the relevant director of offender management by the end of December.

Prison Officers

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prison officers have  (a) been accused of,  (b) been dismissed for,  (c) been charged for,  (d) been convicted of and  (e) commenced a custodial sentence for bringing drugs into a prison in the last three years.

Maria Eagle: In the National Offender Management Service (NOMS), there is no formal requirement to notify headquarters whenever a member of staff is accused of misconduct. Instead, the matter would be reported at a local level. Details of the number of prison officers accused of bringing drugs into a prison in the last three years could be obtained only by consulting all prisons across England and Wales. This would incur disproportionate cost.
	According to centrally held records in NOMS, three prison officers have been dismissed under the internal disciplinary procedures specifically for bringing drugs into a prison since January 2007 (two during 2007 and one during 2008).
	Information about the numbers of staff charged under internal disciplinary proceedings is not held centrally, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost by consulting all prisons across England and Wales. Information about staff who have been charged by the police with smuggling drugs could only be provided at disproportionate cost by gathering information held by all England and Wales police forces.
	While information is held centrally by NOMS about the numbers of staff who have been dismissed following receipt of a police caution or criminal conviction, details of the offence and the conviction are not recorded centrally in each case. To obtain this information it would be necessary to contact each prison in England and Wales.
	Information on the number of staff who have been given a custodial sentence for bringing drags into a prison in the last three years is not collated and held centrally. To obtain this information it would be necessary to contact each prison in England and Wales.

Prisoners Transfers

Alan Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what progress he has made in establishing the extent of the practice of transferring prisoners prior to official inspections across the prison estate in England and Wales;
	(2)  what progress he has made in determining the motivation behind the recent transfer of prisoners prior to inspection reports; and what steps his Department is taking to prevent this happening in future.

Jack Straw: The review of the extent of the practice of transferring prisoners from one prison to another prior to inspection was announced in my statement to the House on 20 October 2009. The director of Analytical Services has started her investigations which will cover the extent of the practice of transferring prisoners prior to inspection.
	In that statement I made clear that the investigation into the temporary transfers of prisoners between Pentonville and Wandsworth prisons had found that they had been arranged as deliberate attempts to manipulate the outcomes of the inspections.
	The director general of NOMS, Phil Wheatley has written to all governors to reiterate that the temporary transfer of prisoners to manipulate inspection outcomes is unacceptable. I issued a public statement reflecting Mr. Wheatley's message.
	I will update the House in February 2010 on the outcome of the review.

Young Offenders: Reoffenders

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the rate of youth reoffending was in each local authority area in each year since 1997.

Claire Ward: The published national statistics on adult and juvenile reoffending are not broken down by area. However, as part of the National Indicator Set, NI19: Juvenile Reoffending provide these data at the local level. This measure is different to the published National Statistics on reoffending for England and Wales.
	Juvenile reoffending data are available for 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2008. For 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005 data are based on a cohort of offenders that received a pre-court disposal (reprimand or final warning) or a first-tier or community penalty or were released from custody between October and December of that year. Data on this previous measure for the 2002-05 cohorts were reported in early 2004-07 respectively. After 2007 the basis of the measure changed to offenders that received a pre-court disposal (reprimand or final warning) or a first-tier or community penalty or were released from custody between January and March. Data on this new basis are available for the 2005 and 2008 cohorts-the former submitted retrospectively in September 2008, and the latter returned in July 2009.
	The local juvenile reoffending measure differs from the published national Statistics on juvenile reoffending. The primary difference is that the data source is administrative data held by youth offending teams, whereas the National Statistics are produced using the police national computer. There are therefore differences in the offences which count towards reoffending. In addition to this, local juvenile reoffending data are based on a one year follow up period with a further three months allowed for any cautions or convictions to occur, whereas the National Statistics allow a six month period for cautions or convictions.
	These data are available broken down by youth offender team area. The areas used are not coterminous with local authorities in all cases. The details are included in the tables, which I will place in the Libraries of the House.

Departmental Recruitment

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what proportion of jobs advertised by her Department in the last 12 months were online only applications; and what provision her Department makes for those wishing to apply for jobs in her Department who do not have access to the internet.

Angela Smith: There have been no jobs advertised as online only application. Applicants without access to the internet can request a hard copy job pack.

Asylum

Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the outcome was of the Prime Minister's question-and-answer session with members of the Mumsnet forum on 16 October 2009; to what categories of asylum seeker the inflationary increases referred in the Prime Minister's discussion do not apply; what the change in the weekly amount of support to a single adult asylum seeker aged 25 years is; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: The Prime Minister informed Mumsnet that the Government are not cutting the amount of money given to lone parent asylum seeking families. The lone parent rate will remain at £42.16 and the amount of money going to asylum-seeking children is going up by 5.2 per cent. These changes came into effect on 6 July 2009.
	The existing support structure was modelled on that used by the Department of Work and Pensions for income support. This system distinguishes between persons aged under and over 25. Given that all asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute have access to rent free accommodation with utilities included, we do not consider the essential living needs of supported asylum seekers change on the 25(th) birthday.
	Therefore, there has been no increase to the existing over 25 rate and from 5 October no new support recipients have received this rate. Instead, a new unified rate of support for all single adult asylum seekers (excluding lone parents) regardless of age was introduced. This rate is £35.13 per week. We will honour the old over-25 rate for those asylum seekers already in receipt of it by 5 0ctober until their appeals rights are exhausted or they are granted.
	With the exception of the rate for lone parents, and the rate for single adults over 25, on 6 July all other asylum support rates were increased by 5.2per cent. in line with the Consumer Price Index for September 2008.

Departmental ICT

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with which organisations his Department has had exclusivity agreements for information technology  (a) hardware and  (b) software in each of the last five years; how many such agreements have been breached in each year; and what the cost to his Department was of each such breach.

Phil Woolas: The Home Department has had no exclusivity agreements with any organisations for information technology for either hardware or software in each of the last five years.
	One of our executive agencies the Criminal Records Bureau has an exclusivity agreement and details are provided in the following table:
	
		
			  Table 1 
			   Details 
			 Home Office/Agency Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) 
			 Contract description CRB Disclosure Service 
			 Name of organisation exclusivity agreement with Capita 
			 Contract start date 2002 
			 Number of breaches of the agreement 0 
			 Cost 0 
		
	
	The remaining two executive agencies, UKBA and IPS do not have any exclusivity agreements with any organisations for information technology for either hardware or software in each of the last five years.

Departmental Recycling

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what mass of paper his Department recycled in each of the last five years.

Phil Woolas: The Home Office collects data on waste and recycling in line with the Sustainable Operations on the Government Estate targets.
	These require that data is supplied on total tonnage of waste recycled but it is not broken down into its constituent parts and this information is not available for the entire estate.

Domestic Violence

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the average annual number of women with an immigration status which is not determined who were subject to domestic violence in the latest period for which information is available.

Alan Campbell: Statistical data confirms that in 2008, 1,342 Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) applications under the Domestic Violence Rule were received by the UK Border Agency (UKBA).
	 Note:
	The figures quoted have not been quality assured and are not a national statistic. It should be treated as provisional management information and may be subject to change.

Domestic Violence: Unemployment

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what research his Department has undertaken on any relationship between levels of domestic violence and unemployment.

Alan Campbell: The British Crime Survey (BCS) shows risk of domestic violence by personal characteristics, including the respondent's employment status. Table 3.04 from Crime in England and Wales 2008-09
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs09/hosb1109chap3.pdf
	shows that 0.8 per cent. of unemployed people experienced domestic violence in the past year compared with 0.3 per cent. of employed people. However, this apparent difference is not statistically significant.
	The data is based on face-to-face BCS interviews. Figures from the BCS self-completion module on intimate violence also show no statistically significant difference in the risk of domestic abuse between employed and unemployed people. See Table 3.16 in
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs09/hosb0209.pdf

Entry Clearances: Overseas Students

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many individuals have applied more than once for a student visa at each post in each month since the introduction of Tier 4 provisions to the Immigration Rules.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 26 November 2009
	Total numbers are as follows:
	
		
			   Number 
			 April 2009 205 
			 May 2009 1,021 
			 June 2009 2,267 
			 July 2009 3,754 
			 August 2009 6,966 
			 September 2009 8,805 
		
	
	This data is unpublished and should be treated as provisional.
	We could provide data for each post only at disproportionate cost.

Entry Clearances: Overseas Students

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many requests for an administrative review of overseas visa posts have been received from applicants refused a Tier 4 visa since the introduction of Tier 4 provisions to the Immigration Rules; and how long it has taken to complete such a review at each post in each month since the inception of Tier 4.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 26 November 2009
	The number of requests for an administrative review received at overseas posts are as follows:
	
		
			   Number 
			 April 2009 1 
			 May 2009 44 
			 June 2009 174 
			 July 2009 304 
			 August 2009 307 
			 September 2009 589 
		
	
	This data is based on manual returns and may be incomplete.
	This data is unpublished and should be treated as provisional.
	We do not keep information on the duration of the administrative review process.

Foreigners: Prisoners

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many foreign national prisoners under the age of 18 years there were in prison on 1 November 2009.

Claire Ward: I have been asked to reply.
	Data on foreign nationals is normally published quarterly. However, due to previously announced problems with the prison IT system the most recent data available relate to June 2009.
	At the end of June 2009, there were 174 foreign national prisoners (FNPs) in England and Wales, aged under 18 years.
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

Illegal Immigrants

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment has been made of the effects of the clearance of the informal camp near Calais on levels of migration into the UK.

Phil Woolas: Following commitments made by both the UK and French Governments under the Evian Agreement, the area in Calais known as the jungle was cleared on 22 September 2009.
	An assessment was immediately conducted and showed that figures for clandestine arrivals into the UK, via the juxtaposed locations, had fallen following the operation. Ongoing assessments reveal the number of clandestine attempts to reach the UK from juxtaposed ports, has halved when compared to the same period last year. There were 1,170 individual attempts in October 2008, compared to 569 in October 2009(1).
	The French authorities continue to monitor the area and dismantle any further illegal camps, which has reduced the number of migrants in the vicinity.
	We continue to build on cross-border joint intelligence and enforcement work, in order to dismantle organised immigration crime groups. In addition to this we work closely with our French partners to improve port security and increase the number of returns flights.
	(1) Statistics have been sourced from locally collated management information held within locally accessed computer systems and do not represent National Statistics. They have not been the subject of National Statistics protocols and verification and should therefore be treated as provisional and subject to change.

Immigrants

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the effects of  (a) monetary incentives and  (b) other factors on return migrant flows; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: The Government want failed asylum seekers who are in the UK illegally to leave voluntarily and, in co-operation with the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) it operates the assisted voluntary return (AVR) schemes to help them to do so. This offers failed asylum seekers a means of return which is both dignified and sustainable. To test elasticity of demand, we have piloted different packages of reintegration assistance to promote AVR.
	The Assisted Voluntary Return programme offers packages of support to all returnees under the Voluntary Assisted Return and Reintegration Programme (VARRP). This programme is subject to an annual external assessment which looks at the package of reintegration assistance on offer, and considers other factors which may affect migrants' decisions to return voluntarily.
	UKBA operate a short term upstream AVR project currently operating in Libya, implemented by IOM, which aims to offer a return and reintegration package to return up to 250 irregular Ethiopian migrants from Libya to their country of origin. The project is due to complete in December 2009, after which evaluation of the project will be made. At this point, therefore, it is not possible to fully assess the effect of monetary incentives or other factors on this return migrant path way.
	The Secretary of State has no plans to make a statement at this time.

Iraq Committee of Inquiry

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when his Department will publish its response to the Chilcot Review into intercept evidence.

David Hanson: As highlighted in the WMS in July the end of the Intercept as Evidence work programme has been reached. Recent work has focused on drawing together emerging conclusions and testing their validity. I shall be reporting back to the House on the findings and conclusions of this work very shortly.

National Identity Register

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to the answer to Lord Stoddart of 14 October 2009,  Official Report, House of Lords, columns 26-7WA, on the national identity register, how many fingerprints  (a) per person and  (b) in total he expects to be stored on the national identity register from 2012.

Meg Hillier: 10 fingerprint images will be recorded as part of an individual's identifying information on the National Register and two fingerprint images will be held on the chip in the identity card. Currently over five million passports are issued each year and it is intended that, from 2012 when fingerprint biometric passports are introduced, every adult applying for a British passport will be offered a choice of being issued with a fingerprint biometric passport or identity card (or both documents) and their identity details and fingerprint biometrics will be recorded on the National Identity Register.

Stop and Search: Greater London

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police stop and search actions have been carried out in the London Borough of  (a) Brent and  (b) Harrow under the powers in Section 44 of the Terrorism Act 2000; and how many records of such searches have been (i) checked to ensure that powers were exercised correctly, (ii) found to have been carried out outside the geographical area specified in their authorisation and (iii) found to have been conducted not in conformity with the authorisation criteria specified other than those relating to geographical area.

David Hanson: Data relating to the number of people stopped and searched under s44 Terrorism Act 2000 in the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) area is available on the MPS website and can be accessed via the following link to give the latest available monthly figures:
	http://www.met.police.uk/foi/pdfs/priorities_and_how _we_are_doing/corporate/mps_stop_and_search_borough_ breakdown_reportjuly_2009.pdf
	In relation to the remaining queries, these are operational matters for the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police to comment on.

UK Border Agency: Departmental Records

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Banbury of 10 November 2009,  Official Report, column 332W, on asylum, how many files are in the UK Border Agency's overall file holding.

Phil Woolas: The UK Border Agency currently holds around 9.9 million paper files in storage-the number of files in action within the business varies considerably on a daily basis.

Company Liquidations

Michael Weir: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many liquidations which commenced  (a) five,  (b) 10,  (c) 15 and  (d) 20 or more years ago have not yet been finalised.

Ian Lucas: Companies House records show the number of liquidation proceedings started and not yet finalised, are as follows:
	
		
			   Number 
			  (a) Five years or more 19,683 
			  (b) 10 years or more 15,892 
			  (c) 15 years or more 14,088 
			  (d) 20 years or more 6,629 
		
	
	In practice, it is likely that the number of liquidation processes started during this time and remain ongoing is significantly lower than this. It would be unusual for an individual process to continue for as long 10 years or more. The implication is that, in a significant number of cases, the insolvency practitioner may not have notified Companies House that a process is complete.
	According to the case database maintained by the Insolvency Service, there are:
	  (a) 103 compulsory liquidations where the insolvency order was made more than five years ago;
	  (b) 16 compulsory liquidations where the insolvency order was made more than 10 years ago;
	  (c) nine compulsory liquidations where the insolvency order was made more than 15 years ago; and
	  (d) one compulsory liquidation where the insolvency order was made more than 20 years ago, where the official receiver has not applied for release as liquidator.

Departmental Official Gifts

John Hayes: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills on how many occasions the Secretary of State has presented an official gift which was manufactured overseas in the last 12 months.

Patrick McFadden: My Noble Friend the Secretary of State tries whenever possible to provide his gifts from the House of Lords gift shop.

Insolvency

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many insolvencies started more than 15 years ago remain unresolved; and what steps he is taking to identify the reasons for the time taken to resolve such cases.

Ian Lucas: According to the case database maintained by the Insolvency Service, there are 25 bankruptcy and compulsory liquidation cases where the insolvency order was made more than 15 years ago where the official receiver has not applied for release as trustee or liquidator. All bankruptcy and compulsory liquidation cases are regularly monitored to ensure that they are progressed appropriately and administered in a timely fashion.
	There are two IVA's currently ongoing that are 15 years or more old.
	Companies House records show that for other (non compulsory) insolvencies the number starting more than 15 years ago but not concluded is 3,717.
	My noble Friend the Secretary of State has no role in monitoring the progress of insolvency cases dealt with by licensed insolvency practitioners. That is properly a matter for the creditors (or in the case of solvent liquidations, the members) and, ultimately, the courts.